Let's Get Down to Work...

I was ready...to get back to work! After being ill, and then tackling the Thanksgiving holiday--I was actually good and ready to get back at my desk and get organized. The month of December can be a kooky one in the work world anyway--there is a paradoxical sense of panic (since the year is ending) and procrastination (since it is the holidays.) It takes some focus and organization to keep things from becoming completely unraveled!

So, I plowed through my in-basket and created a task list for the week, updated my calendar and created a brand new "Grants Prospects" whiteboard for the first part of 2011. It feels good to be focusing on the future and making concrete plans for 2011...

There are budgets to finalize and end-of-the-year tasks to tend to, but there is also a sense of working toward closure for the current year and optimistic progression for the coming one. Of course, I fully understand that the best-laid plans do NOT ensure that all will run smoothly, but it IS nice to be able to close out the books, so to speak, and start fresh. In a few weeks, I am hoping that the evolving year at work will be brighter and better than the one I am trying to wrap up!

Intentional Family

The counters are cleared and the leftovers are all either sent home with departing loved ones, or tucked away creatively in the bulging fridge. Thanksgiving has passed but this year's feast was abundant in myriad ways:

Fourteen people and two dogs slid into our warm little bungalow: good friends, new friends, three of our five grown children and people from their worlds, former in-laws, a former spouse and his new partner, and even a playmate for Lola (our dog.) There were platters brimming with turkey and ham, steaming potatoes with gravy, salads, veggies, snacks and pies...wherever you turned there was something to eat or drink and someone delightful to talk to.

We are a family--most days, I imagine us to be woefully ordinary but yesterday, I realized there was something extraordinary about the layers of warmth and inclusiveness--Teri and I are both strongly driven by humanitarianism, compassion and a determination to contribute to the world in a positive way (it is a piece of what drew us together) and, for us, it begins with the open door that leads into our sunny, yellow living room.

Our lives only grow more diverse and I am grateful for that. We watched as lesbian friends shook hands with my kids' dad, and Teri and I stood arm in arm as my former in-laws unpeeled their coats and set a gleaming bowl of Waldorf salad on the kitchen counter. Seven hours later, as the last friends were leaving, our daughter Lucy stood up to give our dear friend Joyce a big hug and I realized that we are a modern, intentional, American family. With those present and those absent, we are a web of committed attachment--Teri and I care and are cared about and we all head out into the world carrying a bit of that inclusive, open, compassion with us.

As I crumpled into bed sometime after midnight, it dawned on me that, in some ways, I have given my kids exactly what I wanted to when I started out as a parent, and that I have definitely helped create the sort of world I dreamt of as an optimistic teenager (at least on SOME days and in my most immediate surroundings). As our daughter shared yesterday, she has come to feel grateful for a world where she has MORE of what is good about family through the expanding configuration of hers...more fun, more friends, more love, more celebrations, and a world that feels to grow and not contract.

There were those loved ones we missed yesterday, but they were with us in a deeper sense too--and I am proud to be non-"traditional" in the definitions of the rigid Right. For us, however, our family is amazing; our door is open and our commitment to love and inclusion is woven into every day we are privileged to be in this world...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snow!

Our bit of winter weather has arrived and to tell the honest truth, we are tickled. Sure it is arctic cold out there and we only got about a half inch dusting of the white stuff, but boy howdy how fun it is!

The cats have all come indoors and Lola can't seem to get enough of playing outdoors with the neighbor dog, Izzy. Teri went out and threw snowballs for them and since they BOTH love to chase and catch, they were incredibly entertaining jumping and catching mouthfuls of snow. I look at the photos of myself and notice the grey temples, the wrinkly eyes and realize that I am a woman in her mid-forties and I'm still out there tickled as hell to have a snow day...

Oregon is an amazing state--that is not to say that other states aren't just as amazing--I just know that I am feeling gratitude this morning at being able to experience so much in this part of the country without really having to experience severity--we get to dabble and play without months and months of ice and snow.

So, as we sip our hot cocoa inside a relatively warm house and enjoy the interisting light that is created by the snow-covered skylights, we are definitely feeling ready to embrace the holiday season. It is almost time to bake the pies, make the rolls, roast the turkey and glaze the ham...our winter is here!

Waiting for Weather...

We have been promised snow...as a torturous tease, the weather gurus first said Sunday, and then Monday and now we are told that tonight (Monday night) and Tuesday--definitely...likely...probably...snow.

I wouldn't mind a little of the white stuff...we didn't see a single flake last Winter. I've been outside to unhook all the hoses, have raked fallen leaves onto all the garden beds, cleared away the slippery leaves on the deck and paths and just generally snuggled things in as anticipatory snow storm activities. I'm ready!

Not to mention, Lucy and Jacob came over yesterday afternoon to help me pull down all the Christmas decoration boxes from the loft in the garage. Teri headed out for some shopping with a friend of ours and I figured I could use a little help. They then helped me "floof" out the fake outdoor greenery garland and do some initial outdoor decorating. It was cold! We were watching for snowflakes yesterday and still, rain--cold, blustery, constant rain...

A little of the white stuff would be festive, wintery, and just a bit on the interesting side. I know it is a holiday week and people are traveling and I "get" that cold weather makes it tougher on homeless and vulnerable people--but it is also gorgeous and festive and seasonal in a wintery way. Is it too much to ask for a little follow-through? Just a couple inches dusting of the sugary white snow?

Thanksgiving!

Both Teri and I are excited about Thanksgiving this year...we are hosting the ever-expanding gathering and pleased as pie to be doing so!

Last year we spent Thanksgiving apart and even though our commitment was fairly young, we vowed that we would never spend a major holiday apart again so this is technically, our first joint Thanksgiving. Once we decided to cook, we started putting some invites out there and began letting people know that we were hosting. The current guest list is hovering around 15, 16 people and will likely be closer to twenty. Woot! Woot!

Our two-bedroom bungalow is small...yes indeed...and we do not actually have a separate dining room (we have a little utility room that we use as a breakfast nook but that is about it) so we have been doing some creative planning around how and where to fit and feed that many people but it has been such a fun challenge. As Teri said, everyone knows where we live so they know what they are getting into and STILL, there is interest in wandering over.

We have plans for pies, a couple roast turkeys and a ham--along with all the trimmings. Mostly, we are excited that we will have such a unique collection of family, friends, exes and others gathering to share the day. We feel blessed and tickled that our "Normal Rockwell" Thanksgiving will be all about breaking down barriers and expectations and just being open and hospitable. As we've watched the plans for the day expand, there has been another interesting development: the "after" party. There are several people who have lamented that they can't make it for the feast but could they stop by later that evening or the next day for pie and coffee? Of course...we'll have plenty, the door is open...and my goodness do we have some major abundance to be thankful for!

Election Day 2010

I am not a voting skeptic. I just want to get that out in the open. I realize that many of my friends, colleagues and peers have become embittered and burnt out with the political process. I am still fairly idealistic in a realistic sort of way. Because I have spent decades as an activist and organizer, I understand that individuals TRULY CAN participate in our government and in the "process." While I hear others talk about their disillusionment, I want to say that it is incredibly easy to get involved in the political process here in the United States. Not only do our votes matter and count, but anyone can get involved in local, city, county, state, and even national government. From testifying in front of the city council, to volunteering or starting a committee or task force, to running for office, we all have involvement and influence at our finger tips.

Now, I know that money talks. Boy, do I understand how that works! I have gotten as frustrated as the next person when morons are elected simply because they have more financial backing. But who were the morons or misinformed individuals who voted for them? And how many people simply vote "the party line" and refuse to question their own choices? Citizens and voters have a privilege and a duty to be informed, involved and concerned. When people tell me that either their vote doesn't matter or that "they'll show them" by NOT getting involved, it is all I can do not to seize up. Seriously, if you feel disenfranchised or uninvolved it is your own choice. Get out, do something, get involved and, at the very least, vote. Of course, you may not get your way, but participating in the process is a privilege...